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Date: January 20 2013

With Bruce Eva

JANUARY 19, 1953WAYNE SCHIMMELBUSCH IS BORN

IN AN ever-changing world in the 1970s, one constant was that Hawthorn and North Melbourne would play each other in finals, in fact 10 times from 1974 to 1978, including three grand finals. Years ending in '3' have had a habit of being significant for "Schimma" – 60 yesterday, 40 years since his then VFL debut for North Melbourne – round one, 1973, against the Hawks, and next month, it will be 20 years since he was dumped as senior coach of his beloved Roos after the team was flogged by 147 points by Adelaide in the pre-season competition.

Still a member of the AFL tribunal, as a half-forward, winger and ruck-rover, Schimmelbusch played a then club record 306 games for North between 1973 and 1987 (including a still club record 29 finals), kicked 354 goals, captained the side on 150 occasions, captained Victoria, played in the 1975 and '77 premierships and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

As one of the most courageous players to lace up a boot, Schimma, at 60, looks back on a life in football.

Physical condition

"I've had five knee reconstructions – three on one and two on the other. Two of those were after I finished playing. Five years ago, I wasn't in very good nick at all. I had a really bad neck, a bad elbow and my knees. Then "Crackers" Keenan got me to join this charity bike ride with "Barass" (Ron Barassi). We've done it four times now, and once I started riding a bike, everything seemed to disappear – my neck came good, my elbow came good, my knees have come good, and I've kept the bike riding going. Considering what I was feeling like five years ago, I'm probably not in too bad a shape."

Playing under Ron Barassi (1973-80)

"He could be pretty personal, Barass, but he was fair though, and he wouldn't hold grudges. He'd certainly tell you what he thought of your effort, and he'd tell you in no uncertain terms, but five minutes later, at the end of the game he'd be the first to buy you a drink."

First grand final, 1974, v Richmond

"I don't think we ever expected to win, but just the thrill of running out in front of 113,000 people was pretty big. I got paid $34 for that game – that was my match payment. If you played fewer than 50 games (it was his 48th), your match payment was $34 – it was pretty standard, so for the first two years I got $34 per game, including the grand final."

1975 and '77 premierships

"1975 was fantastic because it was the first the club had won and there's great memories of going back to the ground that night and being introduced to the crowd on the back of a semi-trailer, and seeing people crying who had barracked for North for 50 years. It really sent a tingle up your spine.

But I actually got more out of the second one, '77, because (in '75) I don't think anything was going to stop us, it was almost our destiny. '77 was different – we finished third, lost the last home-and-away game to the Swans, lost the first final to Hawthorn comfortably, and then to come out and win after playing in five finals in a row, and coming from five goals down at three-quarter-time in the first (drawn) grand final, I got more out of it."

Playing alongside brother Daryl (47 games, 1978-81)

"I was very pleased for him – he had more courage than anyone I've ever seen. To make the grade at his height (165cm) and he wasn't quick, was very good. He still has a go at me about breaking his leg at training after we lost the first final (in 1977). He hadn't played all year but looked like getting his first senior game, and Barass pitted me against him in one-on-one duels, knowing that we loved competing against each other. Daryl and I had to fight like hell to get the ball back to him, and something in the end had to give. I tackled Daryl and he broke his leg, and I still remember him looking up at me and calling me an ‘effin c'. Six months ago he had an ankle replacement because of it, so he's got a plastic and titanium ankle as a result of that fateful night at training."

Knee injury which ended his career

"In 1987 I captained Victoria on a Tuesday night over in Adelaide and went to Sydney the following weekend (round 10) to play the Swans and that's when it happened. I'd had reconstructions, and the doctor told me I was silly playing three games in one week – I was probably silly playing every week – but when you get the chance to captain Victoria you're going to play. At the age of 34, something was going to give, I suppose."

Never winning a club best and fairest

"A lot of people say that it's a bit of an anomaly. I'm not the only one – Michael Tuck [Hawthorn star] never won a best and fairest. We were both in very good sides, and the years I probably had the best chance were the years I got injured and missed the last five or six games. Even my last year, when I finished after round 10, I was miles in front in the best and fairest – Matty Larkin ended up winning it, but it took him until round 20 to catch me. I wasn't destined to win it; it wasn't meant to be."

Coaching (1990-92, 31 wins, 35 losses)

"It was never an ambition of mine. I got talked into it by Bob Ansett and Ron Joseph. I was the last part-time coach (and) I had a full-time job, and had to work out training during working hours.

It wasn't a burning ambition, but I thought as the years went past I got better and better. In my opinion I probably coached the best in the year we won only seven (games in 1992). I suppose the disappointing thing was I never got to see it through. I got criticised often about sticking my head in the sand and not going back to the club – that's the unfair part about it. I don't know any coach who gets sacked who hangs around the club. The new coach doesn't want you hanging around the club, you don't want to hang around the club anyway. It was time for me to move on."

Football today

"I don't think a lot of people who played the game back in the '70s and '80s like the game the way it is today – it's certainly not as attractive to watch as far as I'm concerned. I was a competitor, and I like to see a centreman play on a centreman, or a full-back play on a full-forward. Nowadays they're all six-foot-four athletes who can run 100 yards in even time, but most of them aren't what I would call smart footballers. The last couple of years it has improved a lot [from the previous few years], but I'd still like to see more one-on-one contests."

NUMBERS UP

29 That's the number North Melbourne veteran Brent Harvey wears in the AFL. But he's also a big fan of putting names on the back of footy jumpers and has joined the growing chorus to give the idea serious consideration.

89 years was the point, set and match for American "Gorgeous" Gussy Moran, a pioneer of professional women's tennis whose short dress and lacy underwear caused a sensation at Wimbledon in 1949. The staid All-England Club found at the time that she had brought "vulgarity and sin into tennis".

42 and not crazy, says Japanese player Kimiko Date-Krumm after her second round win at Melbourne Park. She aims to be playing grand slam tennis for years to come.

WHAT THEY SHOULD DO ...

Older people often say "the game was a lot tougher in my day", and when it comes to the use of sporting equipment, they're quite right. Until tennis became professional in 1968, there was little competitive investment in racquet technology. It took the larger racquet heads of 1975 to mark a real design development. Recently, I was using a 1960s racquet, made of wood and with a small head. Swinging it was like taking part in a weights class and to get power into a shot required an almost tangible effort, like trying to shove a car. Couple this with the tiny sweet spot, where accuracy is achieved, and the racquet itself had a high margin for shot error and a high chance of causing player fatigue. Compare this to using an aluminium frame and large-headed racquet circa 1980s. Light weight, this racquet could be swung easily with speed and the large sweet spot helped as well, making almost any shot return possible. Wouldn't it be fun to see the greats of today play using the equipment of yesteryear? It would give us a chance to put some of the old footage of Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors into perspective. Sure it would be unfair to judge them equally, but it would be interesting to see "fastest serves" and how accurate their shots are using equipment designs from the 1960s? - Luke, Watsonia